


The Dog Lives

by bamf_librarian (librawrian)



Category: Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. (TV)
Genre: Alternate Universe, Animal POV, Dog lives, Episode: s01e21 Ragtag, Fluff, Gen, Happy Ending, Service Dogs, because
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-06-19
Updated: 2015-06-19
Packaged: 2018-04-05 04:59:38
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,419
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/4166871
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/librawrian/pseuds/bamf_librarian
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Because I was bullshit after Ragtag-- "The day Grant left was one of the worst."</p>
            </blockquote>





	The Dog Lives

**Author's Note:**

> So this is an AU of the episode Ragtag where Buddy the chocolate lab does not die. Does Grant miss accidentally or on purpose? I'll let you decide (but probably on purpose, right? Since I can't really imagine Grant missing). Told from Buddy's POV. Buddy's voice is influenced by Chet the dog from the Spencer Quinn books--which you should read if you enjoy stories told from a dog's POV.

The day Grant left was one of the worst. 

First of all the other man was there. The less said about him the better. Grant called him “sir” and sometimes Garrett. I never called him anything because my mind was too filled up with anxiety whenever he was around. Mostly I’m pretty good at reading people--and this is a difficult skill, believe me. People are confusing. First of all there’s all the talking. And I only get maybe half of what they’re saying on a good day. Second, they don’t know what they want! Good dog, bad dog, come, stay. It’s exhausting. No offense. Anyway my point is...what?

Oh yeah, the other guy. He wasn’t nice. I can tell when somebody likes my kind. I knew with Grant straight away. Those times we spent together out in the woods were the greatest! And Grant was consistent. He didn’t talk much, which suited me fine. Grant understood that you could communicate with more than just words. I wish all humans got that.

So, the day he left. Man. I don’t mind admitting that I was baffled. First I thought we were doing hunting because he shot the gun. Great! I love hunting. Well, Grant called my part of it “retrieving.” Makes sense I guess since that’s what I’m called, a retriever. A...something retriever. Pretty sure. Anyway all you need to remember is Buddy, that’s me. Buddy Something Retriever.

Hunting...yeah I thought we were hunting same as always. Only...man was I startled by that second shot! Grant must have completely forgotten that I had already run off to retrieve. That’s what I always did. Grant shot and I retrieved. We were a good team. Anyway, that second shot really rattled me. In fact I felt the vibrations of it inside...in my bones sort of. So, I admit I did the opposite of retrieve. I high-tailed it out of there. In fact, my tail was pretty low...like maybe almost between my legs. By the time I was able to come to my senses I was deep in the woods. I backed up and followed my own scent back to the camp site. It took a long time. By the time I got back the sky was getting all pink and red and I could feel the night coming in the air.

I spent a long time sniffing the spot where Grant’s scent stopped. There’s a way that a person’s scent sort of trails off when they get into a car and drive away. That’s the way it smelled. Grant had left and I was on my own…

So it was a bad day. I spent the night curled up under a tree by the camp ground. My thought was that Grant would be back in the morning. And I liked having the tree at my back for security. The next day I woke up to the sound of this annoying squirrel chickering at me! I blinked open my eyes and saw that he was hanging from a branch overhead. In my tree! So I spent some time trying to see if I could climb the tree. Not really my strong point, tree climbing. After a little while I took stock. Grant hadn’t returned. I sniffed around the campground a bit. His scent was still there but it was fading fast. I let out a long whiney yawn and shook myself from head to tail. Then I took off in the direction that Grant’s scent had been leading when he left.  
I trotted for a while down the dirt path through the woods. 

Eventually I came to a paved road. A pickup truck was driving slowly towards me. I don’t know why I did it. I’m usually not too hot on cars. Maybe it was just that this one was going slow or maybe it was the friendly looking headlights. I walked out of the trees and waited by the side of the road. Sure enough the truck slowed down further and pulled over. It was a woman who stepped out. I gave a little nervous wag of my tail as she walked over. I was still uncertain until I saw her kneel down on the cement. I took a few steps closer. She was making high pitched noises...I guess to call me over. It seemed to be working, I noted, as my paws continued inching closer. That’s when I got a whiff of what was in her hand. Bacon!? I trotted the rest of the way over and politely shoved my face into her hand. She laughed as I ate the treat. Oh yeah, this lady was alright.

So it turned out that Elaine--that was the bacon lady’s name--was a true blue dog lady. She had a big house with some other dogs in a strip of kennels out back. What she did was give us treats and teach us things like sitting and laying down (I guess humans think these are things that dogs need to be *taught* but hey, who am I to say no to a treat?). Near the end of my time there she had me do all the tricks I had learned and a man with a clipboard handed her a piece of paper that meant I could be a "service dog."

As far as I can tell a service dog is a dog that helps their human feel better in some way. Anyway that's how I met my new human, Fitz.

I was wary when we first met. Why all this change? I missed being back in the woods and retrieving. Then I liked it with Elaine and the other dogs and all those bacon treats. And now I was in this new place. A really big scary looking building, actually. Elaine brought me there. We had to wait outside while a heavy man asked her a bunch of questions. He smelled alright, I guess. Not a whiff of bacon though. Finally we were let inside and I got a look at the biggest car I’ve ever seen. I mean, seriously. What will humans think of next? And how big will it be? And why did it have those things sticking out from the side?

When I could pull my eyes away from the car (or “Bus” as I later learned it was called) I got my first look at Fitz. I guess my first thought was that he looked...vulnerable. Fitz held his arms in front of his chest like he was hugging himself. And his head was sort of ducked down. All in all it wasn’t really an inspiring sight. But I could sense his nervousness and so I did what felt natural and trotted over to him, projecting calm friendliness. Then I saw his lopsided smile and knew we’d be alright. I still wasn’t too sure about this new place but it was clear this guy was now my human. Did I sneak in a quick pee on the wheel of the Bus as we walked by it later? Hard to say really. I’m told dog’s memories aren’t so hot.

 

Fitz is so different from Ward. For one thing the smell. Fitz smells like soap and plastic on top. Underneath he smells sort of...soft. Grant never smelled soft. Another thing is I can sense Fitz's emotions a lot more easily than I could with Grant. When Fitz gets frustrated and angry I feel it like a tightness in my belly. When that happens I have this special trick where I just gently lean into his side. It never fails to produce a nice pat on the head and then I can feel his unease settle down. He’s been getting upset less and less these days.

Fitz and I are a good team. We may not go hunting but I help him stay focused in the lab and that gives me the same happy feeling I used to get retrieving. At the end of the day I get a nice sweet potato treat and I get to sleep in the bed with Fitz. That never happened before in my life! And let me tell you there's nothing better than a nice bed with both our scents on it. I get a little annoyed on laundry day when I have to start all over getting rid of that detergent smell...but it's worth it.

Yeah, meeting Fitz? That was one of the best days.


End file.
